Water Mission to Israel (Day 4): Bringing It All Back Home

Wednesday, December 19th, marked the last day the full delegation was together in Israel. Several members headed for the airport to catch late-night flights after the final dinner, while a number of smaller groups are remaining behind to pursue additional meetings and touring activities over the coming days. The morning sessions were dedicated to open … Continue reading “Water Mission to Israel (Day 4): Bringing It All Back Home”

Water Mission to Israel (Day 3): Startup Day in Startup Nation

Tuesday, December 18th, was the midpoint of the Mission agenda and the centerpiece event of the trip. The Massachusetts Delegation hosted the W.E.T. Revolution at Tel Aviv University in the lovely and historic Green House, which was apparently originally built as part of a Palestinian Village, and at various times since has been part of … Continue reading “Water Mission to Israel (Day 3): Startup Day in Startup Nation”

Water Mission to Israel (Day 2): Water Management Solutions at Scale

Monday in Israel started out quickly with the Massachusetts Water Delegation taking part in a global water market networking event with the CleanIsrael Meetup Group. CleanIsrael is a pan-Israel cleantech business network with over 1,000 members and is akin to the Clean Economy Network (now part of the Advanced Energy Economy). After charging up with … Continue reading “Water Mission to Israel (Day 2): Water Management Solutions at Scale”

Water Mission to Israel (Day 1): The Past and Present of the Israeli Water Story

I did say it was going to be a packed schedule, so here I am sitting down at 1am in Tel Aviv sharing the highlights of Day 1 of the Massachusetts-Israel Water Mission. The first 24 hours have been filled with a whirlwind of history, sights, and sounds, spending time with fellow delegates and lots … Continue reading “Water Mission to Israel (Day 1): The Past and Present of the Israeli Water Story”

Water Mission to Israel: Heading Over

It always plays out this way—a kernel of an idea starts the ball rolling, followed by months of increasingly refined planning, a flurry of activity in the endgame, and then it’s GO time. I recall this operating rhythm well from my military days, and it’s been the same over the past dozen-plus years working with … Continue reading “Water Mission to Israel: Heading Over”

A Visit to the Capitol Markets (Part 4—Final Installment)

April 2—(I am back aboard Delta Airlines, this time in Seat 7B, slowly moving up in life…much smoother, too). As expected, the two-day junket went quickly. Today was mainly a series of briefs from the Department of Energy’s Program Managers (the professional/career DOE staffers that manage the various technology verticals). In many ways, it was … Continue reading “A Visit to the Capitol Markets (Part 4—Final Installment)”

A Visit to the Capitol Markets (Part 3)

~5pm, April 1—Outside the Library of Congress (it’s raining lightly, and hordes of students are milling about). A full day of running around Capitol Hill began yesterday with the New England Clean Energy Council masses arriving at the Capitol Building just as it was having a security alert—again, April Fool’s or not? Turned out to … Continue reading “A Visit to the Capitol Markets (Part 3)”

Man on a Cleantech Mission: A VC Visits the U.K. (Days Three and Four)

London, Cambridge, and Manchester: Tuesday and Wednesday, June 10-11 * I am a day behind, so two days in one entry. We spent Tuesday morning at Imperial College London, then took an hour train ride to Cambridge for an evening event at St. Catherine’s College (one of 39 colleges at Cambridge). Wednesday, we were in … Continue reading “Man on a Cleantech Mission: A VC Visits the U.K. (Days Three and Four)”

Man on a Cleantech Mission: A VC Visits the U.K. (Day Two)

London: Monday, June 9th * Day 1 started strong and stayed that way. A set of briefings and discussions at the U.K. Trade & Investment offices, a startup company pitch, coffee with Bernie Bulkin from Vantage Point Venture Partners, a trip to the House of Commons to watch their debate on the Climate Change Bill … Continue reading “Man on a Cleantech Mission: A VC Visits the U.K. (Day Two)”

Man on a Cleantech Mission: A VC Visits the U.K. (Day One)

London: Sunday June 8, Noon * We knew we had arrived when we came out of the underground station at Westminster and looked up at “Big Ben” and Parliament. We really knew we had arrived when traffic from both directions (look right, then left) stopped to let us cross Abingdon Street. Four members of the … Continue reading “Man on a Cleantech Mission: A VC Visits the U.K. (Day One)”